Just pure awesome action from the beginning of the fight until the end. Goku gets a lot of amazing fights during the original Dragon Ball, but few come close to the sheer level of quality present in his final battle with Piccolo during the 23rd Budokai. This fight is a gag battle that relies entirely on gross out humor. From start to finish, it’s an endurance match with amazing choreography that actually develops the cast. RELATED: Dragon Ball: Gohan’s 10 Best Fights, Ranked. Genuine teamwork pays off as every character get a chance to shine before Goku & Vegeta show up to tank the movie’s quality. From the moment Buu enters the Room of Spirit and Time to when Gotenks’ fusion runs out, the fight seems to go on forever. What about what Dragon Ball is most known for? There’s a good reason the series is so popular in spite of its lower quality. It’s by far the best fight choreography Toyotaro’s drawn and it’s one of the only fights that’s actually around the same quality as Toriyama’s work. Remember Goku used Roshi’s Evil Containment Wave to lock Future Zamasu. What’s more, this gift establishes just how terrifying the Androids are. Vegeta caps his combo off with a massive Ki attack that does. It’s narratively a good conclusion to the arc, but it skews too heavily in one character’s favor at any given moment. Vegetto was always going to be a terrible way to end the Goku Black arc so it’s good that the manga formally ends the fighting with Goku’s match against Fused Zamasu. Taking place over the majority of the film, the massive showdown between Goku, Vegeta and Broly in the Arctic is the best kind of spectacle. After spending the entire Android arc getting stronger in our main timeline, Trunks returns to his finally ready to take out his Androids. Tien spends most of the arc learning a specific move he doesn’t get to use and then gets throttled by a nobody monster. It certainly doesn’t help that Gohan isn’t really built up to take this role within the actual arc. This is a fight that pushes both characters to their limit, Long, blandly choreographed, and downright dumb, Goku’s fight against General Blue is easily a low point in the series, if not. Once Buu absorbs Gotenks and gains control of the battle, Gohan is put through a beatdown unlike any other. The hand to hand combat is choreographed perfectly, Goku’s Instantaneous Movement Kamehameha is one of the most creative blends Toriyama does in the entire franchise, and Goku puts up an amazing fight even if Cell is holding back. Long, blandly choreographed, and downright dumb, Goku’s fight against General Blue is easily a low point in the series, if not the low point. That can be frustrating for those fans who care about power scaling, but Goku versus Beerus really does a great job at introducing the concept of godly fighting to the anime continuity. Watching Goku not only learn how to counter Hit’s time stop but also show off his stages of Super Saiyan serves as a nice foundation for the rest of the manga. Gohan’s cowardice ultimately results in Piccolo’s death, giving us one of the best character moments in the entire series. Goku kicking Tao’s grenade right back up at him stands out as one of the most iconic action moments in Dragon Ball, ending the first truly terrifying fight in the series. Video genre: Short film (animated or with human actors) Lesson type: Vocabulary booster Blue is just unceremoniously defeated by Tao, making his entire presence feel like an utter waste of time. Bacterian isn’t funny, Krillin doesn’t do anything interesting, and the match only comes to end once Goku reminds Krillin he doesn't have a nose, and then farts in Bacterian’s face. Yamcha has always deserved better than he’s gotten. For the first time in the manga’s run, a battle doesn’t have gags thrown in, isn’t done in just a few short chapters, and actually has stakes. Up to this point, Vegeta has solidified himself as a formidable Super Saiyan, but that gets thrown out the window once 18 steps into the picture. Vol. There’s a good chance Gohan could actually win, the fight doesn’t last any longer than it needs to, and the choreography is one of the most melee based in the Z-era. After giving the story a more serious tone in the 21st Budokai, Toriyama stumbled with the RRA. It’s the last time Goku and Krillin are ever equal in the context of Dragon Ball, but it’s a great note to end their rivalry on, showing just how fearsome Roshi’s pupils have become. Namu versus Ranfan during the 21st Budokai represents Toriyama at his worst. was never a full fledged gag manga like some fans like to say it was as a defense for the juvenile humor. Resolving to fight anyways, Tien approaches King Piccolo and is instead faced with a new underling, Drum. Dragon Brawl: The 25 Best Dragon Ball Fights Ever, Officially Ranked. There’s a good chance Gohan could actually win, the fight doesn’t last any longer than it needs to, and the choreography is one of the most melee based in the. Along with both characters being evenly matched, it’s a fun, tense fight to read or watch with some incredible art. . When Goku finally decides to throw it all away, he pushes Kaioken to its limit, utterly breaking his body and Vegeta with it. Despite being outshined by Goku from his introduction, Krillin puts up an amazing fight here and actually manages to push Goku back quite a few times. What makes this fight so good isn’t just how well Yamcha does, it’s also how much punishment Yamcha ends up taking. Gohan’s role is less helpful, but it’s still important as his unwillingness to fight seriously adds to the drama. Recoome is the second Ginyu Force member to be fought, so we know our heroes have to get through him somehow, and he’s clearly dominating the entire match until Goku shows up. You feel the weight behind Goku’s blows, and Tao’s desperation is expressed wonderfully without resorting to overt gag humor. SS3 Power Up - Self explanatory. The anime fight is still missing that style, but it at least has some of Toei’s unique flare for Dragon Ball, really going all out on this godly battle. When characters punch one another, they’re also growing. Female fighter representation was easily one of Dragon Ball’s biggest problems before Super. At least Toriyama let him die on a good note. Vegeta grows humble, Gohan shows true agency against Freeza, Krillin puts his life on the line for his friends, Piccolo embraces his Namekian heritage through a ritualistic merging with Nail, and Goku finally accepts that he is a Saiyan without rejecting his Earthling background. After so much great build up for the 21st Budokai, it’s incredibly disappointing to see Toriyama start the tournament off with a gag fight that relies entirely on juvenile humor the series was seemingly starting to abandon. Every blow emits power as Vegeta carries Recoome around the field, striking him repeatedly. The "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" movie goes along with the Dragon Ball Super Arc. Goku kicking Tao’s grenade right back up at him stands out as one of the most iconic action moments in. Video length: 6 minutes 17 seconds. It’s a step back. Every single fight in the original manga is incredibly clean in the sense you can just read along without having to second guess the action, something not many artists can pull off. Fights that either contribute little or honestly just lose their way as Toriyama struggles to find a way to end them. The original Japanese versions of the Dragon Ball Super fight scenes are quick and relentless. The rest of arc is thankfully very strong when it comes to action, but it Vegeta versus Cui isn’t exactly the most exciting start to the Namek arc. Gotenks isn’t just going to defeat Buu, rendering Gohan’s training useless. Ki also doesn’t play a big role yet so it’s meaningful when they both use the Kamehameha. She ends up triggering Ultra Instinct for the second time and their battle is chaotic in all the best ways. Again, Future Trunks gaining his pseudo-God form might come off a bit unearned, but it’s so thematically rich and ends Trunks’ arc on such an emotional high that it’s really a net positive in the grand scheme of things. Goku’s fight against Beerus in the movie is both narratively & thematically rich, but it’s also lacking Akira Toriyama’s signature style. It’s almost filler-sequel in nature. Gohan’s fight against Cell is widely considered to be one of the best fights in the series, but I strongly urge you to reconsider that opinion if you have it. The anime even plays this up by featuring an incredible image song tailored specifically for Yamcha. This is a fight that pushes both characters to their limit, favoring one over the other. Her battle with Vegeta is brutal. Asadora! manages to show Yamcha in an incredibly positive light. One of the best moments of DBZ. Each punch is heavy. Anime Recommendations [Article Category] Action Anime, Drama Anime, Martial Arts Anime [Genres] Boku no Hero Academia (My Hero Academia), Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Megalo Box, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Boruto -Naruto Next Generations-, Berserk, Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit), Souten no Ken REGENESIS, Tiger Mask W, [Anime Title]